Welcome to the E46Fanatics forums. E46Fanatics is the premiere website for BMW 3 series owners around the world with interactive forums, a geographical enthusiast directory, photo galleries, and technical information for BMW enthusiasts.

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!

If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact contact us.

First meet - Saturday, March 31 from 7:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Frequency - Last Saturday of each month; moving dates and frequency based on large events/holidays as well as reception
Location - Hunt Valley Towne Centre in Best Buy and Caribou Coffee parking lot

This morning I had a meeting with Les Nixon, the manager of Caribou Coffee, and he was very excited. I gave him the background of other similar meets and our general expectations. We also discussed the relative void of a larger C&C in this region -- with the closest larger meet being 40 miles away and the local meet being very small -- and the desire to bring exposure to his business and others in the HVTC.

He'll regularly provide gift certificates and I'll work with the other outlets to gather more. Spa in the Valley will certainly work well with me since I have one of their massage therapists on my staff. I also have a good relationship with Dick's Sporting Goods. Calvert Wine and Spirits will be involved and I'd imagine Best Buy will be as well due to their prominent location. There's a reasonable selection of upscale shopping so I'll work with them as well as Subway, Regal Cinema, Sears Auto, etc.

For advertising, a flyer will be spread through the sports car, luxury, exotic and classic car websites. I have a basic flyer that I made yesterday but its limited by the 10 minutes of creation time and my amateur Photoshop ability. If anyone can bring their great graphical talents to this task, your assistance is mightily appreciated. Also, while I have a list of top auto websites, suggestions are welcome.

The ball is rolling. Spread the word. With all of the steeplechase action in northern Baltimore County, its time for our brand of horsepower. Assistance and advice are appreciated. More news will be posted here as it develops.

Dave, thanks for spreading the word. Use every form of advertising. The internet word is spreading but we need to focus on word-of-mouth advertising as well. Many owners simply don't scan the websites but they'll accompany a few buds with their cars if the word gets in the proper ears. Remember, this is your gathering. Its every attendee's gathering. Take pride in it. The 20 to 30-mile radius of Hunt Valley can certainly bring together a quality car meet.

This weekend, I'll be talking with a few of the shops at Hunt Valley and Arena Motor Group since one of their associates reached out to me. There's a shot that they can bring a few cars. Also, the word will be spread to more websites. All suggestions are appreciated.

If you are are 'in' or are even a 'maybe', be sure to check the Facebook page and note your intentions.

As of today, Hunt Valley Towne Centre's security squad (Broadway Silver Star) is on board. Also, I visited Arena Motor Group in Owings Mills to meet the management. They're very excited about bringing a few exotic and luxury vehicles to Hunt Valley. Be on the lookout for some amazing cars. Great people. Finally, Ritz Camera has printed some excellent postcard-size advertisements. Another excellent crew.

Based on the feedback, the Hunt Valley Cars & Coffee has been moved from a monthly to a weekly event. Starting on Saturday, March 31 and every Saturday moving forward, see you there!

There are many more on the 20+ websites that feature C&C threads (as well as many other car entusiasts that could care less about the internet). Between the threads, dealer visits, car searches (and resultant 4x6 flyer delivery) at HVTC and word-of-mouth advertising, the inaugural event is in great shape!

This is awesome I'm from Hagerstown in western Maryland but my girlfriend goes to Towson and lives in cockeysville works at the Dicks in hunt valley. I live there 3 days a week so this just made my day

Excellent. That's quite a good bit of coincidence on the locations. It sounds like we'll see you there on the 31st. Note your intentions on the Facebook page that's linked later.

There's quite a bit of progress over the last week from visits with HVTC Security, Baltimore County police, 6 dealerships, owners of a few car collections, managers from a few shops to most importantly, meeting the everyday owners and talking cars. All that is left, for the attorneys out there, is the indemnity clause.

For the latest news, you can check the Facebook page. If you're a member, you may note your intentions on the site. As for today, 95 have shown interest and much more have expressed interest through the grassroots efforts.

3/15/12
Today was truly special day in Owings Mills. Allison Timms of Treasured Motorcar Services, Ltd. and Richard Garre of Radcliffe Motorcar Company are tremendous people and true credits to the automobile enthusiast community.

Allison and Richard not only have beautiful facilities and, of course, amazing vehicles but they are truly passionate about their craft. These are two of my favorite people from my Cars and Coffee travels. There were at least 10 times where I found my mouth hanging wide open due to the sheer diversity and history behind the cars and trucks. Allison and Richard, thank you once again. These visits will be remembered for a very long time.

Pictures from the day have been added to the photo warehouse. To top off the Owings Mills theme, a recent visit to Arena Motor Group is also captured in the pictures.

3/16/12
After spending so much time traveling to Owings Mills to talk with car collectors and garage owners, I must pay respect to an absolutely fabulous set of roads. Greenspring Valley Road (east) to Falls Road (north) to Shawan Road (east) to Hunt Valley on warm, sunny day is tough to top.

Today, I spent a good amount of time with Randy Moss from Collectors Car Corral in Owings Mills. He's a true example of living it, breathing it and loving it. Randy provided so much quality information on the local car scene. His advice will help form the direction of Hunt Valley Cars and Coffee. It was truly an honor to spend part of the afternoon with Randy, his customers and of course, his cars.

Thank you to each and every one of the 127 people noting their interest. Continue to spread the word! March 31 is right around the corner!

For an example of what's viewable on the link, here's today's update...

Here's the current parking map. The "Show Car Area" is just that. If you plan to bring your show car, this is your area. It will be clearly marked with cones. Spectator vehicles may park in any open space outside of the coned area.

What's up with the "Show Car Area" shape? Integration with early Best Buy arrivals to the north, extra Chick-fil-A employee parking and construction staging to the south and present construction to the west make the marked area the most proper for the cars. For the car owners, it means a bit of a 'calorie burn' for coffee right now, but as construction settles, the zone will shift more toward the middle of the parking lot.

As you can see, the parking lot is surrounded by 3 coffee options that will be open during the Cars & Coffee hours. In fact, Caribou Coffee, Panera and Chick-fil-A will be open at 6 a.m. Options are always good!

If you're arriving from Shawan Road, you'll take a right at the T of the main entrance and then you'll meet with the lower-left of the map. If you are unfamiliar with the area, lean on navigation or Google Maps. (wink)

Its time for car detailing. Make it look sharp. I cannot lie. My hands smell like carnauba from this morning's polish/wax. See you on Saturday!

Gave my car a nice hand wash last night (I go through the automated brushless washes during the winter). That way on Saturday I'll just use the quick detailer to give it a quick touch up. That is assuming it isn't raining haha. I'll be there either way though.

Tonk, I saw the clean car on Facebook. Very nice. Andrew, the 'show car area' is set for those that fit the description of the gathering (check the update below). Its essentially to avoid having a beat up Yugo parked next to you...for door ding safety and better photo ops. Knight, we'd love to have you there but if next weekend or later works best, do what makes the best sense for you.

Here's the final pre-meet Facebook update...

Today was 'kind of a big deal'. Jest aside, there was interaction with HVTC management, the foreman of the on-site construction crew and the event's insurance company.

Please be fully aware of your surroundings due to the previously mentioned on-site construction. Underground utilities are being installed from the center of the Best Buy parking lot to the area north of Panera. During the planning stage for our parking area, this construction was carefully considered and it will not enter our area.

After a few whirlwind event insurance sessions, it came right down to the wire with 25 minutes remaining in the workday. All is set. With insurance squared away, please take it on your own shoulders to be respectable and safe. Its all about a great time. Respect and safety are all important parts of a great time.

Weather doesn't project to be perfect but we're generally holding to 'rain or shine' to eliminate future unsurety. Only in moments of heavy rain, prominent holidays, etc. will there be an announcement of postponement. Due to the weather projections, tomorrow will not be a full representation of our group but it'll give us an idea of our 'rain on shine' crew.

Weather will also loosen the need for more strict parking guidelines. Typically, we'll split the groups by style and model but tomorrow should be good with only a clear understanding that the coned area will be set for 'luxury, classic, exotic and modded' cars. This will set the tone for future events.

Let's consider the inaugural a soft rollout...a pre-Grand Opening. Tomorrow is our first! I hope its your first as well but if not, we'll see you down the road!